(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 214: An awkward, but rewarding dinner

Chapter 214: An awkward, but rewarding dinner

While it was awkward, since both of them were nervous, and a little shy. Maxwell was more so, considering he had tried to come in all bold, but had crumbled as soon as he saw Andrew. Andrew didn’t mind. He hated to admit it, but he did like that Maxwell hadn’t handled their time apart well.

It made him feel...wanted. He knew that was very messed up of him, and he should have realised that Maxwell did care about him in several other aspects of his life, but he couldn’t fight the small warm feeling that had filled him when he’d broken down sobbing. Several times.

Andrew felt that it might have come from the several times he’d broken down crying in front of Maxwell, and the man had come out of it...unscathed. Not that he wanted to relive those moments. He wasn’t a sadist. He didn’t like Maxwell feeling so desperate and torn, he just liked that the reason for it was because he cared about Andrew so much.

Maxwell slowly sipped at his tea, and as time moved forward, he didn’t look as puffy as he did before. His complexion also smoothed out, and even though he still looked tired, exhausted even, he seemed to be in much better spirits.

His features were softer, not as harsh as Andrew continued to hold his hand. Andrew felt that he, himself, was also relaxing. The longer he spent around Maxwell, touching him, the more his anxiety and stress faded.

It wasn’t until they both sighed at the same time that it became obvious that they were feeling the same way.

Maxwell seemed surprised to hear Andrew sigh, while Andrew started laughing.

"Well well well, what a surprise. Why are you sighing, Max?" Andrew asked, his tone light and Maxwell swallowed. He glanced at Andrew, before looking away.

"I just...it’s nice to be able to be around you, smell you, and have you actually here." The hollowness in his voice couldn’t be missed and Andrew raised their intertwined hands and kissed the back of Maxwell’s. Maxwell glanced towards him.

"I understand what you mean. You’ve been in a house surrounded by my scent, while I..." Andrew flushed, feeling embarrassed. "I didn’t have your scent around so I..." Andrew cleared his throat. "I forced May to buy several bags of chai tea and I tried to recreate your scent." Maxwell’s eyes were wide as Andrew admitted the thing he’d done shortly after awakening from his hangover.

He’d been desperate, so maybe forcing May wasn’t the exact words. He felt like he would have gone insane if he didn’t get the smell in his nose, and May, knowing more about alphas than Andrew, had rushed off. She had smelled Maxwell’s pheromones when they’d been over for dinner, mostly because Maxwell had been so worked up and worried for Andrew during that time.

So she had grabbed what she thought was a close match, and Andrew had spent a whole afternoon mixing until he found as close of a match as he was sure he was going to get. Nothing could compare to Maxwell’s true scent, but this was probably the closest he was going to get.

It wasn’t as warm, or as...Maxwell as he had wanted, and he felt a little silly when May had brought him a little mesh baggy to put it in. In fact, the baggy was in his pocket, next to the letter that Maxwell had written, but he was hoping he wasn’t going to have to reveal that.

Maxwell let out a shocked laugh, his lips turning up slightly.

"You...tried to recreate me?" He repeated and Andrew flushed deeper.

"I...I did." Andrew muttered. Maxwell let out tinkling laughter, the sound filling the air as the server slid the door open, another server helping them carry in the first couple of appetizers that Andrew had ordered for them. Andrew felt his expression relax, even if he was embarrassed.

It was nice to hear him laugh after so long.

Their main server seemed a little relieved as well. They normally would have asked if they needed anything else, but instead, they left and Andrew set to work. Andrew hand fed Maxwell every bite, rotating between feeding him first, and then himself.

Maxwell seemed to be relaxing more by the minute, his shoulders dropping, his colour returning, but his appetite was something completely different.

When Maxwell finally refused his next bite, Andrew put down the fork. He wasn’t going to push him, and they had more food to come. He was willing to match Maxwell’s pace if it meant that the man was eating.

He could tell that he probably hadn’t, and Maxwell was skinny to begin with. It was a concerning reality, and Andrew just wanted to make sure he was okay.

The server came by, topping up their coffee and hot water respectfully, and then clearing away their plates. Andrew asked for everything to be packed up that wasn’t finished, and the server willingly agreed, taking the plates away before coming back with boxes, and putting them on a small table in the corner that Andrew hadn’t even noticed before. It was basically an end table, and Andrew could see that it was probably used for this, or other things if the small table they were sitting at was full.

It wasn’t long after that their main entrees were delivered, and Andrew repeated his actions from the previous course. He did have to let go of Maxwell’s hand to cut up all the meat into bite size portions. As soon as that was done, he took Maxwell’s hand in his own again. Maxwell hadn’t made a big deal about it, but it was clear that he was relieved when Andrew took his hand in his again.

Maxwell ate diligently, appearing to enjoy almost everything, except a side dish that Andrew had ordered. Andrew ate all of that, not leaving any of that behind to be packed up, and when Maxwell signaled that he was done, Andrew put down his fork again.

Maxwell glanced at him, his expression complex, before he took a sip of his tea and spoke.

"You can continue to eat." He said, and Andrew grinned. He’d wondered when Maxwell would make a comment on it, and was surprised he’d made it as far as he had.

"I’m fine, Maxwell. I’m actually quite full. Did you want something sweet to finish the night off?" Andrew asked and Maxwell’s gaze slid to Andrew’s lips, before he turned his gaze away, his ears pink.

Andrew felt like his body froze at the subtle, quiet show of desire from Maxwell, and from the way he tried to deny it.

"I-It’s fine. I don’t need anything else. Do you?" Andrew swallowed.

"I don’t need anything else either. Shall we get everything packed up that we didn’t finish?" Andrew asked and Maxwell nodded, his ears still pink. Andrew exhaled slowly, controlled, as he waited for the server to come back. Andrew let her know that he was paying for everything, despite Maxwell’s frown. Andrew laughed at his expression.

"Max, I’ve just come into money. Let me show off a bit, won’t you?" He teased, and Maxwell grumbled, but it wasn’t loud enough for him to truly complain. The server waited nearby, clearly looking over the two of them with interest, but choosing not to pry.

Andrew appreciated it, and also appreciated when they boxed up everything, putting it into bags so that Andrew could easily carry it. Andrew took a second, before they were about to leave to reorganise everything so that half of the entrees and half of the appetizers were split between the two bags that everything turned into, and he handed one to Maxwell.

Maxwell gave him a blank look, and Andrew grinned.

"It’s for lunch tomorrow, Max." Andrew teased, and Maxwell’s ears turned pink again. The server, who was nearby to witness this, holding open the door for the two of them, tried to hide their smile. Maxwell took the bag, and Andrew took his free hand.

The two of them left the room, before Andrew dragged him over to where the three ladies were sitting. The shocked look on Maxwell’s face told Andrew that he had no idea that they were here. That was another indicator to Andrew how messed up Maxwell had been over the last little bit.

Maxwell looked a little hesitant, while the ladies were surprised that they were done so soon.

"Did you guys breeze through everything? Did you even talk?" Kim asked, glancing between the two of them and Andrew nodded, squeezing Maxwell’s hand.

"We did talk. Of course we talked. We just didn’t get dessert." Andrew told them and May and Luis stared at the two of them. Andrew could feel their penetrating gazes as they scanned them thoroughly before both sighed quietly.

"You two look better." May commented, her tone dry. "Maxy needs to be put under for those criminally large bags under his eyes." She tsked, raising a red wine glass to her lips. Maxwell flinched, but it was Luis’ turn to take a stab at the couple.

"And Andrew, look at you! I swear you’ve lost 20 pounds." She tsked, taking a sip of her glass of red wine. Kim glanced between the two Mothers, and hiding her smile, she took a sip of her wine too.

Andrew sighed, glancing towards Maxwell who looked quite shaken.

"Have they been here the whole time?" He asked and Andrew grimaced.

"I had no choice. I couldn’t exactly come to see you in what I was wearing before, could I?" Andrew replied and Maxwell opened his mouth, before he closed it. He closed his eyes, his brows furrowing before he opened them and stared at the three women.

"I...I understand. Your whole wardrobe is at the house so..." He swallowed, trailing off. He slowly turned his gaze towards Andrew. "Are you...coming home tonight?" He asked carefully and Andrew felt his heart begin to race in his chest. He glanced behind him, to find Luis, May and Kim staring at him with hard eyes.

It was clear that Andrew had to make the right choice, and he was going to get beaten by three women.